Rangers trade Hastings' Derek Stepan to Arizona; Caps re-sign T.J. Oshie

June 24, 2017 at 4:49AM
Stepan (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Arizona Coyotes acquired center Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta from the New York Rangers on Friday for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the seventh overall pick in the draft.

The 27-year-old Stepan, of Hastings, had 17 goals and 38 assists in 81 games with the Rangers last season. Arizona has lacked a true top-line center for years and is hoping Stepan can fill that void.

Raanta went 16-8-2 with four shutouts and a 2.26 goals-against average in 30 games as Henrik Lundqvist's backup. He will get a chance to be Arizona's No. 1 goalie after Mike Smith was traded to Calgary last weekend.

DeAngelo had five goals and nine assists in 39 games last season, his first in the NHL.

The Coyotes have made massive changes since Andrew Barroway became sole owner earlier this month, trading Smith, parting ways with coach Dave Tippett and opting not to offer captain Shane Doan a contract.

Arizona also acquired defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson from Chicago earlier Friday for defenseman Connor Murphy and forward Laurent Dauphin. The 30-year-old Hjalmarsson had spent his entire 10-year career with Chicago, helping the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles.

The Swede had five goals, 13 assists and a team-high 181 blocked shots in 73 games last season.

Oshie signs for $46M

Before the NHL draft started Friday night, Washington re-signed right winger T.J. Oshie to an eight-year, $46 million deal that will carry an annual salary cap hit of $5.75 million.

Oshie, 30, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Oshie tied captain Alex Ovechkin for the team lead in scoring with 33 goals, and he also had the league's highest shooting percentage at 23.1.

The Capitals acquired Oshie, of Warroad, Minn., in a trade with St. Louis before the 2015-16 season. In the two years since, Oshie has 107 points and twice set career marks in goals. He has spent the majority of those two seasons as the right wing complement to Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom.

The massive deal could handcuff Washington from making a splash with other offseason moves. The Capitals still have five restricted free agents, including Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, who could receive long-term deals, and General Manager Brian MacLellan has said that he won't be buying out any players this summer.

One potential wish-list item for Washington is a top-four defenseman, after Nate Schmidt was swiped in the expansion draft.

Etc.

• Forward Patrick Eaves, 33, agreed to a three-year, $9.45 million contract to stay with the Anaheim Ducks.

• The Los Angeles Kings bought out the final year of defenseman Matt Greene's contract, cutting ties with another portion of their Stanley Cup championship core. Greene has been with the Kings since 2008.

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